Time and Time Again
by ninja-riding-elephants
Summary: After awaking in The Bounty with amnesia, Jay finds that things have changed. Follow his journey as he tries to figure out what happened to his teammates, and what happened to Ninjago. Why are Cole and Kai acting so differently, why is Garmodon after him, and what is he up against? It's rated T, and is very different from the show.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Stay on your feet!" A frantic voice whispered in my ear. "Don't stop running. Go, Jay! Go!"

"Wait!" I tried to say. The world around me was spinning slightly. "What''s going on? I-"

Something pushed on my back and my feet moved on their own. I was running away from the light into the darkness. The ground moved from underneath me. I hit it with a bang.

The light of the moon was too bright. I struggled to get to my feet. My heart threatened to leave my chest. I pushed myself from the ground.

I ran.

I was running for my life

Running away.

Running from…

Running from…

What? I stopped running for a second. What was going on?

"There he is!" A new voice shouted from above me. People were shouting and alarms were blaring in the distance. The world around me was blurred, but I forced my legs to move again. I was running.

Someone tackled me around the middle. My attacker pushed me to the ground yelling about escaping and family. The world around me spun frantically. My attacker and I rolled down a hill.

"Watch out!" A faint voice shouted. My atter let go of me, but I couldn't stop my descent. There was a loud splash and I was surrounded in cold water. There was no way to know which way was up. I tried to swim,but I hit the floor with a crunch.

I was running out of air. I struggled to breath. This was how I was going to die. After all I had been through in the prison this was how I was going out. I let out my supply of air and opened my eyes painfully underwater. I was facing the surface where three figures were looking down at me. One of them jumped into the water to get me. I didn't fight him.

Useless… Stupid…. Weak… Leader…. Prison… Failure… Escape…. Family…. I wasn't useless or weak. Words echoed around my head in familiar voices, but I couldn't place who had said them. I wanted these voices to stop their chanting. All at once they did.

I slowly became aware of my surroundings. As I tried to move, I became aware of the sharp throbbing in my chest and the burning in my head. My heart was on fire and I wished to go back to sleep.

"Jay?" I opened my eyes and regretted that decision instantly. The world was too bright. My vision was blurry for a few seconds before the world came sharply into focus. I sat up quickly and yelped at the pain in my chest. "Calm down. You're alright."

"What?" I asked to the open room. I turned my head to survey the room. "Kai?"

"Yeah, it's me." He responded faintly. Kai had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was messy. It looked as if he hadn't seen a bed or a good meal in a week. "Are you okay?"

"My chest is on fire." I said. Kai nodded and turned his face away from me. He looked towards the door. Suddenly, it seemed that he was afraid of me.

"I'll be right back, okay?" Kai asked. I nodded. He glanced at me. His expression was unreadable. "I'm going to go get the others."

He disappeared through the doorway. I focused on getting out of bed. The pain in my chest flared with every movement of my body. I sat on the edge of the bed with my arms wrapped around my body.

I had never seen this room in the monastery before. It was empty except for the bed and nightstand. The door creaked open and Cole and Zane entered the room. They both had wide smiles and Cole's booming laugh echoed around the room.

"I'm glad to see that you're awake." Zane said as he walked over to me.

"You sure had us scared, Motermouth." Cole intoned. "Glad to see you back."

"Uh," I was lost. Where had I gone? "I'm glad to be back?"

"Are you okay?" Zane asked. He was surveying my every move.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said trying to stand. I faltered, and both Zane and Cole made movements to catch me if I fell.

"Walking isn't an option right now." Cole said seriously.

"Take this." Zane said handing me a pill and a cup of water. "It'll make you feel better."

I took the pill and swallowed it. I moved to sit on the bed and handed the water back to Zane.

"Uh," I started wondering how to phrase the question. "How'd I get hurt?"

"Neither of us know." Cole said sharing a look with Zane. "You were hurt when you were in Garmodon's prison. I assume torture, but we were hoping that you could fill in the details."

"I was Garmodon's prisoner?" I asked in astonishment.

"Yes." Zane said stiffly. "You were captured in battle."

"How was I captured? For how long?" I questioned. "I thought Garmodon went into hiding."

"You were there for a couple months." Cole said with a blank face. His smile had faded.

"Months?" I breathed. I didn't remember any battle or being captured or anything. "How'd we get defeated by the Sulkin?"

There was silence in the room. Zane and Cole looked at each other with wide eyes.

"We were fighting the Serpentine." Zane explained. Those were the creatures from the myth, right?"

"The serpentine?" I asked in a panic. "They're real?"

"Jay! Will you stop fooling around?" Cole roared suddenly. I was taken aback. He seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Jay, please excuse us for a minute." Zane intoned. The pair of them left the room. The stood just outside the doorway hissing in low whispers. Why were they keeping secrets from me?

All three of them had been acting weird, and now that I thought about it they had changed. Cole's hair was longer, and both he and Kai had gained significant muscle. Zane looked the same as what i remembered him to look like. How had I not noticed these details?

The door opened and Cole and Zane entered. Cole's eyebrows were scrunched in confusion.

"Jay." He started. I cut him off.

"Cole." I said. He looked at me. I shrugged.

"Jay, we suspect that there's something wrong with your memory." Zane explained. "We were wondering what you last remembered."

"We just rescued Kai's sister." I paused. "Nya. We have been talking for a while. She seems really into me. I-"

"Jay," Cole said. "Move on."

"Heh, right." I said. "Garmodon escaped the underworld, and he's loose in Ninjago. Honestly, you guys should know all this. It only happened a few days ago."

"So, that proves it." Cole said. "Jay, what's the date today?"

"That's a funny question." I scoffed. "Apparently, I've been in a prison for a few months, so I wouldn't know."

"I'm serious, Jay." Cole said rolling his eyes. "What's the last date you remember?"

"It's around February 2nd." I said.

"What year is it?"

"It's 2011." I said. "This feels like an interrogation."

"How old are you?" Cole question. I sighed. These questions were getting us nowhere.

"I'm 15." I responded. "I'm the same age as you guys."

"Jay, it's April 11, 2012." Cole said coldly. "You are 16, and have a serious memory problem."

There was silence for a minuet before I broke out into laughter. I tried to stop laughing because it set my chest alight with pain.

"No, it isn't." I chuckled. "This is just a joke. You guys are so funny! Zane, I can't believe it. You've finally found your sense of humor."

"Jay, listen to me!" Cole snapped. "There's something wrong with you. You've forgotten the past 14 months. Haven't you noticed we're not in the monastery?"

"Where are we then?" I asked. I stopped laughing, but I was convinced that this was a cruel joke.

"We're on the Bounty." Cole responded.

"You're not serious. Are you?" I asked doubtfully. Cole nodded and Zane looked at me soberly. "This isn't possible. This has to be a joe. You're joking. Tell me you're joking!"

"I'm sorry, Jay. I-" I interrupted Zane.

"Where's Sensei Wu?" I asked. "I want to talk to him."

"He's not here." Cole said quietly. "Nya left for the city to investigate something, so she's not here either. We have to tell Kai."

"I'm not telling him." Zane said quickly.

"I can't do it." Cole responded. "You do it."

"I do not want to be blown up." Zane protested. They were fighting like children.

"He's less likely to blow up at you. He's still mad at me for," He paused and shot a look in my direction. "For you know what."

"Of course." Zane said. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "I'll go take care of it now."

"Why is Kai mad at you?" I asked as Zane closed the door behind him. "Why would he blow up Zane What's been happening? How was I captured by Garmodon? Why are you so buff?"

"What?" Cole asked giving a start at the last question. "I think we should wait until dinner to answer questions. I'll gladly give you the answer to the last one."

I laughed quietly, and he smiled.

"How are you feeling?" Cole asked. I tried moving around and was taken aback when I discovered that almost all the pain in my chest had disappeared.

"Good." I said surprised. "Almost as good as new."

"Great." Cole said. "You need to take one of those pills every day. You got a concussion and you bruised one of your ribs."

"Wow." I said. "Some fight that must have been, am i right?"

Cole didn't laugh, and my smile faded quickly. I moved to stand up. I was sick of sitting down. I stood upright for a few seconds before tripping. Cole caught me before I could hit the ground.

"Ahem." Kai said loudly. Cole dropped me and stepped back. I groaned from my place on the floor. "What a thing to walk into, Cole."

"I didn't do anything." Cole said defensively. "He fell."

"And so you dropped him again?" Kai demanded. I rolled onto my hands and knees and got to my feet again.

"I'm sorry." Cole said coldly. Kai ignored him and turned to me.

"How are you feeling now?" He asked.

"I can't walk very well yet." I said very confused. My stomach gave out a rumble. "Is dinner soon? I'm kinda hungry."

"Zane went to go make it." Kai offered. He stepped closer to me. Cole looked at the pair of us. Kai let out a small cough. "Maybe you should go help him, Cole."

"Yeah." Cole said. "I'll do that."

He walked towards the door, but when he passed Kai he stopped to whisper into his ear. Kai stiffened slightly, but nodded. Cold shut the door as he exited the room.

Kai stared blankly at me. He had probably changed the most out of all three of them. He had multiple scars all over his face and arms. He had a deep cut across his throat. It looked as if he had been held at knife point. He had gained muscles, and the shadows under his eyes stood out more then ever.

"I'm sorry to hear about your memory problem." Kai said.

"Is that what Cole whispered into your ear?" I asked abruptly. Kai hesitated slightly.

"He mentioned it." He said stiffly. "I… Uh..."  
He seemed to be at a loss for words. I stood changing my weight between my feet trying to regain balance.

"You've changed." Kai said. "What did Garmodon do to you?"

"I don't know." I said coldly. "I don't remember."

"That's too bad." Kai said.

"I think Cole was counting on me to give him some information." I said. Kai's frown deepened.

"Yeah, well, dinner should be ready soon. Want me to walk you over there?" Kai asked. I nodded.

"I don't really trust my legs at the moment."I said.

"That's alright." Kai said moving to stand next to me. I put some of my weight against him and crossed the room slowly. He led me down the hall. Our progress was slow. "I missed you."

"Uh…" I was taken aback. "I missed you too I guess."

"It's been a long time." He said. "You were imprisoned for a few months."

"Kai, what's going on?" I asked. I stopped walking in order to see his face.

"I guess you really have forgotten." Kai said. "Sorry for the weirdness, Jay. It's been an emotional few months for all three of us."

"I can tell. You guys have changed so much." i said with a ghost of a smile.

"Not just us." Kai said. "You've probably changed the most out of all of us. It's hard to believe that you don't remember anything."

"I remember some things." I protested. Kai laughed.

"Sure you do." He said. "Let's just go to the dining room."

We continues to walk down the hall. The hallway was kind of chilly, and I pressed myself closer to Kai for his warmth.

"What are you doing?" Kai asked me.

"It's kind of cold." I responded. "I'm stealing your fire ninja heat."

Kai laughed, but didn't object. An amazing smell had filled the hallway, and it grew stronger as we walked.

Questions filled my head. Why was everyone so weird? The most normal one is Zane, and he's always been abnormal. Cole and Kai literally hate each other. They used to be friends, what happened?

We reached the dining room, and my eyes fell on the dinner table. It was covered in a few pots of steaming food. Kai helped my sit down on one side of the table before he went around to sit across from me.

"This looks amazing." Kai said as I breathed in the smell. "Thanks, Zane."

"Thank you." Zane returned with a smile. "Let's eat before it gets cold."

I nodded and served myself. I had never seen this kind of food before. It looked like mashed fruit and some blue jello thing. I hesitantly took a bite, and was surprised when it was delicious.

"What is this stuff, Zane?" I asked with my mouth full.

"It's called Kolids." Cole said. "We can't stop for supplies very often, so we grow our own food."

"Where do you have space to grow crops?" I asked in astonishment. "How big is this place?"

"It's pretty big." Kai said with a smile.

"Sorry to ruin the moment." Cole said. "But I told Jay that he could ask some questions."

"What would you like to know?" Zane asked. The three of them turned to face me. I shrugged.

"Just tell me everything." I said. I was excited to finally get some of my questioned answered.

"I'd guess we'd better start at the beginning." Cole said with a sigh. "Zane, you have the best memory. Would you do the honors?"

"But leave out the details." Kai added. "If you know what I mean. We don't need to be here all night. Just tell him about Garmodon."

"Certainly." Zane responded setting down his fork. "Jay, you remember defeating Lord Garmodon in the underworld. He had escaped into Ninjago, and all was peaceful. We waited for something to happen. Garmodon was out there, and we trained every day. We worked together to get to know each other and to learn to work as a team. After a few weeks of nonstop training, we gave up.

"We didn't take it seriously anymore. It seemed as though Garmodon had disappeared forever. Sensei Wu told us to keep training, but we neglected to listen. He was right. A few weeks later, Garmodon's son was spotted in a village with an army of Serpentine. We went to stop him, but we were out of practice. We only won out of sheer luck. Garmodon's son, Lloyd Garmodon, ran. He released more tribes of serpentine and eventually, they came to confront us.

"The battle that followed was something from a nightmare. We were all outnumbered. We faired well in the beginning, but when Lord Garmodon himself entered the battle, we knew we were done for. We tried to escape, but," Zane paused looking at Kai.

"You were captured." Kai put in. "The three of us only barely escaped with our lives."

"That's it." Cole said. "We don't know anything about when you were his prisoner."

"Oh." I said thinking. "Wait, if only that happened, then why are you guys acting so different?"

"That story is what happened with Garmodon. Pythor is out there." Cole said. "He's the current leader of the Serpentine army and he's looking for a way to release a monster into the world. We're trying to stop him."

"He's collecting Fangblades." Kai cut in. "He needs all four of them to unlock the monster."

"We've been growing stronger as well." Cole interrupted. "We need to unlock our full potential. That's our ultimate power."

"You and Zane have already unlocked yours." Kai said glaring daggers at Cole. "Cole and I still have to find it."

"I'm obviously really close to unlocking it." Cole boosted. He crossed his arms defiantly and Kai huffed with amusement.

"No, you're not." He responded. "I'm closer."

"I'm going to unlock it first." Cole said getting to his feet. I scooted away from him on the bench. Kai also stood matching his height. The temperature in the room seemed to rise. The floor under our feet shook.

"Stop it!" Zane yelled. Both Kai and Cole looked at him in surprise. Zane seemed to grow in anger. "Neither of you are going to unlock anything if you don't learn how to control your elements. May I remind you that Garmodon is still out there, and we need to fight him not fight ourselves."

"Whatever." Kai muttered. He turned and left the room in a huff. I heard a door slam in the hall.

"What's with him?" Cole asked angrily. "Everything I do makes him mad. I didn't even do anything. He's a prick."

He continued to mutter to himself as he started to clear the table. Zane walked towards me.

"Sorry you had to see that, Jay." He said to me. "It's different then you remember."

"Yeah, tell me about it." I said. "Do they always fight like that?"

"Sometimes." Zane said. "They faught a lot more after you had been captured. They have an explosive relationship."

"I can see that." I said. "What about their elements though? How'd they do that?"

"When someone with elemental powers loses control of their emotions, their elemental powers come out. They will learn to control this when they unlock their full potential."

"What is a full potential?" I asked. Zane paused.

"You unlock it when you get past the thing holding you back. It's when you become one with yourself." He said. "You unlocked it before you were captured, but you don't remember that."

"I know I don't remember that." I said. "Do I have to unlock it again?"

"I do not know." Zane said with a sigh. "It's nothing that we've come across before. This is new territory. You'll figure it out when you get to it."

"Well, that's informative." I grumbled before letting out a yawn.

"It is getting late. We should all be heading to bed." Zane said. I nodded. "Do you need help getting there?"

"I think I'll be okay." I said standing up slowly. The medicine was in full effect and I couldn't feel any pain at all. I nodded to Zane, and walked down the hall slowly. I entered my bedroom and closed the door behind me.

I had so many questions.

 **Hey, Guys! Thanks for reading. There was a coding error, but I reloaded it, so it should be fine now. Shout out to Nagasha for pointing this out to me!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Alone." A voice rang out. "You're all alone. No one is coming to save you."

"I'm never alone!" I shouted into the dark.

"You'll be okay." A voice said. Hands lifted me to my feet. "We've all been through it, but I assume he was harder on you because you're a ninja."

"We're together. Nothing they can do can break us."

"A family sticks together."

"You're all alone, Jay. They've forgotten about you."

Light flooded the room, and I awoke with a start. I sat in bed and looked towards the doorway.

"Kai, I told you to stop!" Cole was shouting. I looked at the pair of ninja grumpily. Both of them had bed-head and Kai was shaking visibly.

"Thank the first spinjitzu master." Kai breathed. He was close to hyperventilating.

"See?" COle asked. He rubbed Kai's back gently. "It was another dream. He's fine."

"I know. I know." Kai said. He rubbed his eyes, and shifted away from Cole's touch. "It's foolish."

"Your nightmares are getting worse." Cole stated. "Maybe when Nya gets back she can make you a dream catcher."

Kai nodded, but muttered something under his breath. Cole shook his head. They each refused to meet the other's eyes.

"Hey, guys." I said breaking the silence. "What's up?"

"Sorry, Jay." Kai said. "It's nothing."

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Don't worry about it." Cole said sharply.

"Where's Nya?"

"She's not here." Kai stated stiffly.

"She'll be back eventually." COle added. Kai grumbled incomprehensibly. I narrowed my eyes.

"What aren't you telling me?" I asked. "You barge into my room just to stand there. I'd like to go back to sleep, you know."

"Jay," Cole barked. "Since it seems like you're awake now, why don't we start training?"

"What?" I asked angrily. "I was sleeping when you two came in! I don't even get breakfast first?"

"No." Cole said.

"Things certainly have changed for the worse."

"You don't know the half of it." Kai said. He seemed to be trying to speak without his voice shaking.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked him.

"Break it up, you two." COle said. "Jay, go have breakfast. You have ten minutes."

"Fine." I sighed. I rolled out of bed. I was still in my clothes from yesterday.

"Make that eight minutes." Cole said.

"What?" I roared.

"Five minutes." He said. "I suggest you run."

I jumped onto the floor, and made my way to the kitchen slowly. The pain in my chest had come back a little bit, but I could still walk.

Zane was in the kitchen making coffee when I entered. I searched the cupboards for something to eat.

"Good morning, Jay." Zane said. "Did you sleep well?"

"I slept fine untill Cole and Kai woke me up." I grumbled.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Zane responded.

"Hey. Zane, did you go and eat all the food again?" I joked with him. "There's no food here."

"I do not understand what you are referring to." Zane said.

"At least that didn't change." I said partially relieved. "You still have your bad sense of humor. I guess you didn't catch the reference."

"Oh," Zane faltered. He handed me a cereal box. "Would you appreciate if I turned my funny switch on?"

"See, Zane," I said letting out a laugh at the joke. "Maybe you have gotten better. Nice try, but you need to work on your jokes a little more."

"It was a joke?" Zane asked. "Ha? Ha?"

"Yeah, if you say so." I said opening the fridge. "Where's the milk?"

"We don't have any." Zane replied smugly. He adjusted his shirt.

"You waited until I poured my cereal before telling me this?" I asked him incredulously.

"Nothing like a good joke to wake you up." He said. He grabbed his coffee, "I'll see you at training. Try to, at least, get something to eat. Maybe some cereal."

"Ha, ha," I said sarcastically. "That's very funny."

"Yes," Zane said. "I thought it was."

He left the room, and I sighed. I ate the cereal without milk.

"Jay, get out here!" Cole yelled. I put my cereal on the counter, and left the way Zane did. I found my way onto the deck of a boat. There was endless sea for miles.

"Glad you could make it." Cole said sternly once he got sight of me. He had been talking to Zane and Kai wasn't outside.

"Sorry, Cole." I said giving Zane a hard look.

"Don't be." Cole responded. "Just don't let it happen again."

"Did you have a nice breakfast?" Zane asked innocently.

"Shut your mouth." I said to him and his small grin. Cole shook his head at the pair of us.

"Jay, we're just going to review what you know." He said. He and Zane got into fighting stances. I put my hands up in surrender.

"Wait, Wait, Wait," I said. "Hold on. I have to fight both of you?"

"Yeah," Cole responded. "Don't worry, we'll go easy on you."

"That's reassuring." I said sarcastically. Cole raised an eyebrow. I prepared myself for defeat. "Okay, I'm ready."

I got into a fighting stance, and Cole wasted no time in striking. I jumped out of his way, but someone grabbed my ankle. I landed on the floor and tried to squirm away. Cole placed his foot on my chest. The fight was over.

"That was quick." Cole said. He removed his foot and helped me to my feet. "Next time, try to be lighter on your feet."

"Cole," I turned. Kai stood holding a house phone. "It's-"

"I know who it is." Cole said with a sigh. He walked towards Kai and plucked the phone from his hands. "It figures that she'd call today."

"Well, she has her reasons." Kai said. Cole pressed a button on the phone and put it in speaker mode.

"Yes?" He asked. A girl's voice answered.

"There's been a lack of activity in Ninjago City." The girl said. She paused.

"So?" Cole asked sternly.

"Well," The girl faltered. Her voice was familiar, but I couldn't place it. "I was wondering if I could come home. It would be a nice break even for a day or so."

"I don't think so." Cole said. "You've got an important mission. Have you figured out anything since the last time you called?"

"Well, no, I-"

"So, you want to come back with nothing to show for your hard work?" Cole barked. "This is the second time that you've called this month. You wanted to be a part of this team. Act like it."

"Cole," Zane cut in. Cole glanced at Zane, but sighed.

"Listen," he said to the girl in a calmer tone. "I'm sorry. I know that you've been away for a long time, but I think you're about to discover something big.

"Why don't you come out here?" The girl asked.

"You know why we can't do that. It's risky." Cole responded. He smiled slightly. "Besides, we've found Jay."

"What?" The girl screamed with delight. "Is he okay? Can I talk to him?"

"Sorry, but we're in the middle of training. He's okay for the most part. He's got a few injuries."

"Oh," the girl was clearly disappointed. "Well, next time then."

"Okay, are we done here?" Cole asked her.  
"Yeah, I guess." She responded. "Can you give the phone back to Kai?"

"Sure." Cole said. He gave the phone to Kai who took the phone off speaker. He seemed angry. "Don't take too long."

"Okay." Kai responded through clenched teeth. He walked away and continued to talk to the girl.

"Who was that?" I asked. "Why won't you let her come home?"

"She's busy." Cole replied as Kai disappeared inside. "Let's get back to training."

"I just want to know who it was." I stated. "What's so important that you banished her to the city?"

"She's doing important work." Cole said glancing at Zane.

"She said nothing was happening." I protested.

"Things are happening." Cole spat. "She's just being lazy. She's trying to protect all of Ninjago City."

"From what?" i asked.

"It's for the good of all people. And she knows it."

"Nothing can be that important." I retorted.

"There are things that you don't understand." Cole said. "Things are happening that you don't remember."

"Tell me, then." I said crossly.

"It's dangerous." Cole said. "It's too dangerous for you to know just yet."

"Send me to the city." I said. "I can go, and she can come home. I'll research everything that she's working on."

"No." Cole said sharply. This was a great idea.

"I'm an inventor. I'm really good at research." I said. "This plan will let her come home for a vacation and I'll get to see her. She did say that she's missed me."

"Jay, no!"

"But why not?" i asked. "It's a perfectly sensible idea!"

"Because-"

"No, just let me go to the city!" I said excitedly. A sharp pain flared in my chest, and I winced.

"You're still hurt!" Cole accused. "You can't go anywhere."

"Why do you care so much?" I asked. "I'm not hurt that badly."

"We just got you back from Garmodon!" Cole shouted. I stopped and glarred at him. "Even if you don't remember it, we do. Do you know how hard it is knowing that you could be hurt or dead and not being able to do anything about it? We just got you back, and now you want to leave again? We just want you to be safe!"

"Cole?" I paused. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for anything to-"

"Forget it." Cole said. He turned toward the door. "I'm done for today. Train with Zane."

He walked away from my, and disappeared inside. Zane looked at me with one eyebrow raised.

"What did I say?" I asked him. He sighed and walked towards me. Before I could blink, he had grabbed my wrist and had flipped me onto the ground.

"Always be ready for an attack." Zane said. I groaned from my place on the floor. "Get up, please. We have a lot of material to go over."

The rest of the day was spent going over the things I should know. Zane was a ruthless teacher. We went over spinjitzu and talked about the fighting style of the serpentine army. We only stopped when the sun had set.

"I'm sore in over twenty different places." i complained as I entered the kitchen.

"Take this." Zane said. He handed me another pill and I took it.

"You're not sore at all, are you?" I asked him. He shook his head. I sighed. "Of course you're not."

"I suggest getting a full night of sleep." Zane said ignoring my comment. "It'll be a long day tomorrow."

"Can't I have a day off?" I groaned.

"No."

 **Thank you for reading and a special thank you to those who followed, favorited, or reviewed!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Can I go into the city today?" I asked at breakfast the following morning. Cole was just sitting down with a couple of fried eggs.

"No, Jay, you can't." He said curtly.

"Just stop asking." Kai intoned sleepily.

"The more you ask, the harder we train." Cole said. I grimaced slightly, but kept my mouth shut. "How was training yesterday?"

"I thought it went pretty well." I said. "I'm sore today, so that's a good sign."

"He showed a little improvement, but we need to work on it." Zane said. "He reaction time is slow."

"Then we'll work on that today." Cole said. He started on his eggs. I stirred my milkless cereal and an idea popped into my head.

"Hey, Cole?" I said. "You know what improves reaction time?"

"Do I really want to know?" Cole asked. I feigned being shot in the heart.

"Oh, Cole, you wound me!" I said. Cole and Kai snickered.

"What is it, Jay?" Cole questioned. I straightened up.

"Well, I was thinking-"

"That's dangerous." Cole intoned with a grin. I ignored him.

"Well, I was thinking that instead of training, we could play videogames." Cole raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I know what you're thinking, but hear me out. It improves reaction time, lets us bond as a team, and it's more enjoyable than training."

"But training is more productive." Cole said. I deflated.

"Aww, you never let us have any fun." I groaned.

"You're right." Cole said. "That's because I'm the leader. I have to make sure that we're up to defeating Garmodon."

"Just think about it." I sighed, but went back to my cereal. Breakfast continued in silence. I focused on chasing down every bit of cereal. It was a lot less fun without milk.

"Is he asleep?" Cole asked. I looked up. Kai was leaning on one hand. His eyes were closed.

"It appears so." Zane chimed in. Kai started snoring quietly.

"He's definitely asleep." I said with a small chuckle. "Should we wake him up?"

"No." Cole said. "He needs it. I don't think he slept very well last night. We keep telling him to take sleeping medicine, but he doesn't want to."

"Oh," I returned. "So, we're just going to leave him here?"

"Yeah," Cole said standing up. He shot me an evil glare. "It's not going to prevent us from training."

"Ah, man." I said dejectedly. I stood up too. "Can I at least have that medicine again? My chest hurts a bit."

"Yeah, let me get it." Cole said. "You go outside."

"Fine." I grumbled. Cole snickered as Zane went to clear the table.

It was too bright outside. I stood in the middle of the deck with my eyes closed. Something kicked the back of my legs, and I fell backwards over the side of the ship. I swam up to the surface and coughed.

"Never let your guard down!" Cole said with a laugh.

"Why would you do that?" I yelled up to him.

"It's a great way to start training!" He responded.

"Well, I bet you didn't count on this!" I shouted. I took a deep breath and dived under water. I swam under the boat. The ocean was clean and sparkling. A few fish swam around me. I swam to the other side of the boat. I could see Cole still looking over the edge.

"He thinks he's funny." Cole said aloud. I assumed that Zane was standing out of view. "Right, Zane?"

I treaded water for a few minutes. I debated going back onto the boat, but decided against it. Something pulled on my foot and I was submerged in water. I looked down kicking at whatever had caught me. Zane looked at me from under the water. I struggled to breath. My chest throbbed. Zane let go, and I floated up to the surface of the water.

"Let's go train now." Cole said from the ship. I was disoriented, but followed Zane up the rope ladder on the side of the ship.

"I thought Zane was up here." I said. "You were talking to him."

"That's what I wanted you to think." Cole responded. "Stay on your toes."

"I was swimming!" I protested. Cole smirked.

"Get into your fighting stance."

"God have mercy on me."

I had made the floor my home and I didn't plan on ever getting up. This week had flown bye. It had been full of intense training, but today's training had gone really well.

"Jay, you need to get off of the floor." Cole said from above me.

"Make me." I responded. I could just imagine Cole rolling his eyes at me.

"You're blocking the hallway." He said. "Your room is right there."

"It's too far." I groaned. So what if I was blocking the way? I've seen all three of them jump over higher obstacles.

"I'm going to step on you." Cole replied. I lifted myself from the ground and rolled to the side of the hall. "That's not what I meant."

I sighed, but crawled to my feet. Cole nodded in approval and carried a semi-large box around the corner. I turned around and walked to the kitchen hoping to find some food. Kai was sitting in the kitchen. He was on the phone again. I sorted through the cupboards trying to find something that wasn't a mutant fruit. Something in Kai's conversation caught my attention.

"Yeah, he's doing okay. Cole's pushing him pretty hard though." Kai said. "He's learning, but he's still kind of rusty. I think that once you come back, we can go get his weapon. Yeah, I know it's dangerous, but that's why we need you back."

I locked eyes with Kai and turned around quickly. Heat rose to my cheeks and I abandoned the thought of dinner. I went back to the hall. I stood by the door hoping to hear more of Kai's conversation.

"I know." He was saying. "It's like he doesn't like you. Maybe I can come visit you. Yeah, I know. Do you just not want me to visit again? You know what? Fine. Fine. Goodbye."

There was a click as Kai hung up, and I fast walked down the hall towards my room. I could hear a loud thump as Kai threw the phone. I ducked into my room and closed the door behind me.

"Weapon?" I asked under my breath. "What weapon?"

"Where'd you hear about a weapon?" I looked up in panic. Cole was sitting on the bed. Zane was standing a few feet away from him. It looked as if they had been arguing.

"What are you doing in my room?" I asked.

"This is my room, Jay." Cole said crossing his arms. I surveyed the room. There were a few photos, and a giant painting of ninjago city hanging on the walls. The scythe of Quakes leaned against the doorframe. Cole's bed sheets were a bright orange.

"I, uh, knew that." I said with a forced laugh. "Yeah, I'll just be leaving."

"You do that." Cole said. I left the room in a hurry. A door slammed farther down the hall, and I retreated back to the kitchen.

"Everyone's so mad today." I stated as I walked around. "What weapon was he talking about? He said my weapon. Am I a weapon? I don't feel very weapon like."

I left the kitchen and walked onto the deck. THe sun was setting slowly, and I sat by the door to watch the waves. The boat was rocking gently back and forth and clouds had appeared in the distance.

"You know I'm right!" A voice roared from inside. "This conversation is over!"

"Fine!" A door slammed. I looked towards the closed door, but decided against going inside. It was just a bomb waiting to go off. This was the calm before the storm.

"What's over?" I asked the ocean. "Hopefully he meant that my training was over, but that's probably not it. What are they hiding from me? It's gotta be something, right?"

I waited for an answer, but I only got a rumble of thunder in reply. I sighed, but stayed quiet. I didn't expect the ocean to say anything anyways. A dolphin jumped out of the water and did a flip. I applauded it's trick, but was ignored.

I stood and walked to the edge of the bounty. I looked over the side. The anchor was down, and the dolphins were getting farther away. The clouds, however, were moving ever closer. Soon they would be over the ship.

I backed away from the edge. The water was beginning to get nasty. I went inside where it was warm. Retreating to my room, I sat on my bed. Hopefully the others wouldn't be angry tomorrow.

"Jay, wake up!" I sat up in bed. Cole was pounding his fist on the door. "We need you!"

"What is it?" I grumbled. I opened the door and Cole grabbed my arm. He dragged me through the halls onto the deck. "Why is it on fire?"

"Lightning strike." Cole replied. He ran back inside. I tried to stay upright on the violently rocking ship. "Wake up, guys! There's an emergency!"

The air was electrified and it woke me up instantly. What did Cole want me to do out here? We needed Zane not me.

"Move over." Zane said stiffly. I scooted away from him as he held up his golden shurikens. He threw them and sent ice over the fire.

"Jay, I need you to stop the lightning." Cole barked at me. I jumped from one foot to the next.

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked frantically.

"You're the lightning ninja!" Cole said. "Do something!"

He rushed forward with his scythe and started to blast dirt at the fire. Zane and Cole worked together as if they were one. They had gotten almost all the fire to go out. There was another flash of lightning, and the deck reignited.

"Jay, now's your cue!" I ran into the wind and rain. I stared up at the clouds.

"Hold on!" I shouted. "Lightning's going to come… Now!"

There was a millisecond where I tried to decide what to do. I jumped where the lightning would hit. There were shouts of alarm as the world went white. I jumped up as the world came back into focus. I was full of energy, and I held my hands up to the sky. Something white hot shot into the sky where it disappeared in a bright flash.

I moved to the next flash. Soon, the fire on the deck was almost out, but I couldn't keep it up for much longer.

"Do something, Kai!" Cole shouted as I dived for another bolt. "Get the anchor!"

Kai was out of sight, but Zane ran forward to lift the anchor.

"Where's Kai?" I yelled over the winds.

"Let's get above the clouds!" Cole shouted. With the anchor on board, Zane ran inside. "Brace yourself, Jay!"

I nodded and shot pure electricity into the sky. I felt weak, and stumbled. The ground swayed underneath me. Cole grabbed my shoulders for support and I braced myself against him.

"Watch, Jay." He said into my ear. A slight rumbling noise echoed over the sound of the storm. The clouds seemed to get closer, and we were surrounded by a thick fog. I couldn't breath through the fog, and tried to see through the darkness.

All at once, it was bright. The Bounty was swimming in grey clouds. The sky was a bright orange fading into purple, yellow, and red. It was a magnificent sunset.

"We're flying!" I shouted in panic. "Look at this! This is… this is amazing!"

"I know." Cole said with a snicker. "It's beautiful."

"We are in the air, and are 500 feet above the storm." Zane said from behind us. I got off the ground and looked toward the setting sun.

"That's good. Thanks, Zane." Cole said stiffly. The air was thick with tension. I looked between Zane and Cole nervously. "I need to go talk to Kai. He didn't help us at all. That's unacceptable."

"He's most likely in his room." Zane said.

"Sure. Thanks." Cole walked inside. Zane glanced at me.

"I'm sure that you have questions." Zane mused.

"Yeah, I do." I said excitedly.

"Let me answer the obvious ones." He said. "You can channel energy through your body for reasons that I can not fathom. Garmodon is in possession of the golden nunchucks of lightning."

"Garmodon has them?" I asked ignoring the part about the lightning. "Are we going to get them back?"

"We will try." Zane responded."For now, let us go inside or we will both become blind from this glorious sunset."

I followed him inside the bridge and could hear Cole and Kai engaged in a rough shouting match.

"Maybe we should have stayed outside." I grumbled.

 **Hey, Guys! Thank you for reading this chapter! A special thank you to Loki God of Evil, xNinjagoFanx, Guest, Nagasha, LGBTaccpter, and Fires of Darkness for leaving reviews for the previous two chapters! It really means a lot to me!**

 **Again, thank you for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Breakfast was, for lack of a stronger word, tense.

I shared glances with Kai. We both looked anywhere that wasn't Cole or Zane. Cole was still mad at Kai, but whatever he had against Kai was forgotten. The tension between Zane and Cole could have killed ten men.

They wouldn't talk to each other, or look at each other. They were superficially polite to me, and Cole ignored Kai entirely. I just wanted breakfast to be over.

"Pass me the cereal, please, Kai." Zane intoned loudly. Kai grabbed the box, but had to lean over Cole to hand it to Zane so he put it by Cole to pass over. Zane leaned over Cole's breakfast to pick up the box. Cole scowled and crossed his arms.

Cole reached across Zane for the orange juice. Zane didn't move, but let Cole invade his personal space.

As Cole was bringing the juice back to his seat there was a flash of white. Zane had grabbed Cole's arm and was shooting him a sideways death glare. Cole twisted his wrist in a way that made Zane let go. In a second, both ninja were standing. The temperature in the room seemed to drop.

The two stared at each other without blinking. The ground shook slightly, and ice crept over the table. Snow started to fall from the ceiling. Kai shivered and wrapped his arms around his torso.

Cole's breath became visible and his hair started to turn an icy blue. Zane took a step back, and I thought for a second that he would strike Cole. However, Zane turned and strode out of the room slamming the door shut behind him. Kai left the freezing room a few seconds later. Cole turned around and sat back down. He opened the orange juice, but the liquid had frozen solid.

He slammed the container on the table just as Kai reentered the room with the Sword of Fire. He started to heat up the room with his sword.

"I have to get off of this ship." Cole grumbled standing up. "Kai, your sister's mech still works, right?"

"Yeah, it's in the basement."

"Thanks." Cole responded.

"Cole," Kai paused. "if you need someone to talk to then I'm all ears."

"Uh," Cole sighed. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Kai."

"No problem." Kai said. "Go on; I'll clean up here. Don't forget your mask."

Cole nodded and opened the door. He stuck his head out in order to check if Zane was in the hall. The coast appeared to be clear so Cole left the room.

"What's going on between them?" I asked as soon as I assumed Cole was out of earshot.

"They're arguing about something." Kai said picking dishes off the table. "Cole's leader, but Zane is his second in command. Zane keeps Cole from letting his emotions take control."

"I thought you were second in command." I protested following him into the kitchen.

"I used to be, but I gave the position to Zane after you had been captured." Kai paused. "I became a bit, uh, unstable… so Cole deemed that I wasn't fit for leadership."

"Is that why you guys are so mad at each other?" I questioned. Kai shook his head.

"No. We're both holding grudges." Kai said wiping the table down with a wet rag. There was a loud rumble from outside and I rushed to the window.

A large machine flew past. It was humanoid but bigger and was a fire engine red. I could see guns mounted all over and two huge sword handles stuck from a pair of sheaths. Cole sat in the cockpit with a black mask pulled over his mouth.

I watched the mech disappear into the distance. Kai finished with the table and came to stand next to me.

"I was glad that Zane took my leadership spot. Cole and I don't really work well together." He paused and elbowed me in the side gently. "Well, since the table is clear now, I guess you have the afternoon off. We aren't going to be very productive without Cole or Zane."

"I don't have a lot of things to do." I protested. "I don't have much to do, you know. This week has mostly been training and stuff."

"I'll show you to the game room." Kai prompted and I nodded quickly before he could change his mind.

"You guys still have video games?" I asked in astonishment. "I thought you were too serious for that."

"It seems like that sometimes." Kai said with a faint smile. "We grew… distant after you were captured."

"Yeah, I noticed." I chanced at a joke.

"You were really our only form of comic relief." Kai responded seriously. "I'm glad you're back."

"Comic relief? Is that all I'm good for?" I mocked being insulted, but dropped the act when Kai started to laugh. "Well, i'm glad I'm back too. Maybe I can help fix whatever's going on here. It seems like we're hardly a family anymore. What happened to you guys?"

"I'm not even sure that we are, you know, a family. I haven't had a proper conversation with Cole since before you were captured." Kai paused. "Now with this thing between Zane and Cole it doesn't look like things'll get much better. Well, that's another story. Let's go play some games."

"Sure." I hesitated. I wanted more answers than that. "But we're coming back to this conversation eventually."

"Oh yeah?" Kai asked.

"Yeah." I retorted with announce in my step.

"Well, you have to make me. You're not strong enough to fight me yet." He flexed his muscles. "For now, let's stick to video games."

"Fiinnnee." I drawled. He led me through the hallway which had a trail of ice leading to a doorway farther down.

"I don't remember Zane ever being this mad." Kai whispered to me as he stepped over the ice.

"He's not being very cool with this." I intoned smiling at the pun. Kai glanced at me with an eyebrow raised.

"Just chill." Kai retorted as he opened a door to our right. Any response I had melted away as my heart soared.

"You guys got an upgrade." I said with amazement. There was a flat screen television and a high tech game system. A stack of video games fell against the far wall and the floor was littered with bean bags.

Kai picked out a game and we spent the afternoon playing game after game. Eventually, we stuck in Mario Kart.

I was winning and shot Kai a small smirk.

"Don't look at me like that." Kai protested. "There's still time for me to catch up."

"Ahem." Kai paused the game right as I was about to cross the finish line. Cole stood in the doorway. The tips of his bangs were still an icy blue.

"Hey, Cole." I said. "You're back so soon? What's up?"

"Yeah," Cole paused. "Kai, I need to talk to you."

"Sure thing." Kai said. There was a moment of silence.

"Privately please." Cole intoned. Kai stood up.

"Alright." He dropped his controller onto his chair and followed Cole outside.

I was left alone to sharpen my racing skills for an hour. Eventually, I started messing with the wiring of the controller. It was pretty simple, but tried to enhance the controls.

"Aha." I said as I connected the wires. I started another level and won easily. The room glowed a faint orange as the sun set. Kai snuck into the room with a smirk.

"Finally." I complained without missing a beat. "You were gone for so long!"

"It wasn't that long." Kai said sitting down next to me. He grabbed a controller and joined in. He had a stupid grin on his face.

"What even did you two talk about?" I asked.

"You'll see." I sighed and Kai smirked.

"It time for dinner." Cole said with a knock on the door. "Hey, I haven't played that game in months."

"I know, me either." Kai replied. "We'll be there in a second."

"Sure thing." He responded closing the door.

"Are you guys cool now?" I asked his.

"Are you kidding?" Kai snorted, but his smirk didn't fade. "You know what he did to me?"

"No, I don't." I said. "But you could tell me."

"I'm not falling for any of your tricks, Jay." Kai said without missing a beat.

"Ah, come on." I said. "You can tell me."

"If you beat me, then I'll tell you." Kai said as he crossed the finish line. "Woops, you're too late. Better luck next time."

"That was so unfair!" I said in exasperation. Kai stood up and turned off the gaming system. "I declare a rematch!"

"And I declare that we need to eat dinner." Kai said with a laugh. "We need to go make sure Zane and Cole don't fight each other."

"You're probably right." I responded getting off of the floor.

"Aren't I always?" Kai asked with a smirk. I elbowed him in the side and ran before he could retaliate.

"Not fair!" Kai said as he followed me. I had always been faster than him. I slowed my run when I reached the dining room door. I slipped inside to see Cole sitting next to Zane. He seemed relieved when the door opened.

"Smells good?" I said trying to cut the tension as I sat across from Zane.

"Yeah, thanks for cooking, Zane." Kai said coming in behind me. For dinner, we were having more of the weird fruit stuff and we ate in silence for the first part of the meal. Zane didn't want to look at Cole and stared me down for the first part of the meal. Kai sighed, but looked between the Zane and Cole.

"Will you two knock it off?" Kai asked breaking the silence.

"Knock what off?" Zane asked formally.

"You know what I mean." Kai said heatedly. "It's so awkward in here. Just talk to each other. You guys have come too far to ruin your relationship with something stupid. I don't know what you're fighting about, but put it behind you." Silence filled the room. Zane stared straight forward, but Cole shot a glance at Zane. I steeled myself to say something.

"I- I agree with Kai." I said taking a deep breath. "We need to work as a team and we can't do that if y'all not talkin' to each other. We need to be a family and family members always get on each other's nerves so you guys have that taken care of, but family also forgives one another. It's simple, just someone apologize first and throw this out the window. Besides, you're dragging down the full enjoyment of breakfast and that sucks so just make up. Please."

I only stopped talking when I ran out of breath. The others stopped and stared. They seemed to be comprehending my superfast speech.

"I'm sorry, Jay," Cole said. "but did you turn western for a second there?"

Kai burst into laughter and Zane smiled faintly. I shrugged. "That happens sometimes. Have you ever met my parents?"

"Yeah," Kai said. "they told a bunch of embarrassing stories about you."

I sighed, but looked toward the pair of still angry ninja. Zane was staring out the window. Cole was looking at Kai. Kai nodded at him and gestured to Zane. Something was going on. Cole turned a bright red, and Kai mouthed something to him. Cole nodded and turned to Zane.

"Zane." Cole said. Zane looked at him with a questioning glance. He wasn't angry anymore. "Come to the city with me tonight, will you?"

"It is the middle of dinner and there is nothing in the city that we need." Zane said. "A trip to the city would be a waste of gas. That would not be advisable."

"Uh," Cole faltered. He looked at Kai who nodded. Cole sighed. "Damn it, Tin Can. It's called a fucking date."

 **Sorry not sorry for the cliff hanger**


End file.
